The term "SCUBA" is an acronym for "self-contained underwater breathing apparatus." Scuba diving has become an increasingly popular sport over the years. Due to this increasing popularity, there have been a proliferation of dive shops which specialize in renting and selling scuba diving equipment.
One of the integral components of scuba diving apparatus is the air regulator which supplies the diver with breathing air from a high-pressure tank. Typically, scuba regulators are two-stage, single-hose devices which include a first stage regulator connected to a second stage regulator through an intermediate pressure hose for delivering clean, dry air at ambient pressure to the diver. The first stage is attached to the high pressure air tank and reduces high air pressure, at about 2000 or 3000 psi or so to an intermediate pressure level of about 140 psi. Air at 140 psi is conducted through the hose to the second stage regulator where air at ambient pressure is delivered on demand to the diver via a mouthpiece. In addition, a high pressure hose is usually connected to the first stage and to a submersible pressure gauge or instrument console. A third hose may be attached to the regulator for conveying air to a power inflator for the buoyancy compensation device now frequently worn by divers. U.S. Pat. No. 4,219,017 shows one type of such a two stage regulator, with only the single hose connecting the two regulator stages.
The first stage typically includes a machined body having a high pressure inlet that mates with an outlet valve of the high pressure tank during use. The machined body of the first stage according to American standards also typically has a yoke adjacent to the high pressure inlet to provide a coupling, through an opposed screw, to the high-pressure tank. The body and yoke may be made of chrome plated brass, or other similar material. When the regulator is not in use, it is common to insert a dust cover between the high pressure inlet of the regulator's first stage and the yoke-mounted screw which is tightened onto the dust cover to hold it in place, sealing and protecting the high pressure inlet.
Oftentimes, when either personal or rental regulator apparatus is not being used, divers and dive shop attendants hang the entire apparatus by the yoke from a nail or hook on a wall. In a crowded, busy dive shop, the rental regulators are frequently taken on and off the nails from which they are hung. Such practices oftentimes result in damage to the regulators or their finishes because the nails or hooks upon which the regulators are hung may scratch or otherwise mar the surface of the regulators and/or yokes thereby eventually allowing them to rust. This is undesirable because it may shorten the useful lifetime of the regulator, which is an expensive device. Moreover, such indiscriminate storage may kink or cause severe bends in the hoses shortening their useful lives.
In another form of regulator configured to meet the European or DIN specifications, the first stage is not provided with a yoke but rather with a protruding, externally threaded high pressure inlet. This is screwed into a tank valve when in use. Such a regulator may frequently be hung by its appended hoses, when not in use, causing undesirable hose kinking or wear.
Accordingly, it is one objective of this invention to provide improved means for storing or hanging scuba regulators of either American or European configurations.